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Why are there so many freaken pills around?

Ever wondered why there are so many damn pills on the market? What’s the difference between Brenda and Juliet? Why is she on Diane and while you’re on Zoely?

From experience, I was prescribed Zoely merely because my GP was in abundance of Zoely sample packs (how convenient). After my first appointment I was given 2 packs. For FREE! Naïve as I was at the age of 19, I took them with the same satisfaction anyone would have given freebies. From hindsight this was a stupid move by my GP and myself. I should have asked questions. Why Zoely? Why not Brenda or Juliet or even Yaz? Is Zoely any better? What’s the difference and why does it cost twice as much? (Zoely $75AUD for 3 months)

If I were talking to my 19-year-old self, this is what I would have told her…In terms of combination (estrogen and progestin) oral contraceptive pills there are TWO main types – monophasic (one phase) pills and multiphasic(multiple phase) pills.

Monophasic pills

All active pills in the pack have the contain the same levels of estrogen and progestin in each pill

So regardless of what order you take them in, each pill is the same as it as the same dose for every active day

Monophasic pills are more popular as they are easier to take. Multiphasic pills only appeared because there were concerns about estrogen levels in monophasic pills. Which leads me to the numbers. Ever wondered why there are numbers attached to each pill name? This number is actually an indication of the amount of estrogen that is present in the pill.